Spatial Navigation in the Digital Age: The Number of Landmarks Depicted on Mobile Maps Interacts with Individuals’ Working Memory Capacity on Spatial Learning during Navigation

This study investigated whether and how visuospatial working memory (VSWM) and the number of landmarks depicted on mobile maps influenced navigators’ spatial learning of traversed virtual urban environments. We found that greater VSWM spans predicted improved spatial learning, contingent on the number of landmarks depicted on the mobile map.